Live Updates: Israel killed 500+ Gaza medics since Oct 7 — health authorities

Monday, May 13, 2024

04:35 GMT — Israel killed 500+ Gaza medics since Oct 7 — health authorities

At least 500 medical personnel have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7 last year, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said as the world marked International Nurses Day.

“Here in Palestine and in Gaza in particular, this day passes as the Israeli occupation has killed 138 nurses. This year's International Nurses Day is exceptional, and it is our right to name this year the Year of Nursing,” ministry spokesperson Khalil al-Daqran said during a news conference on the sidelines of a sit-in organised by nurses at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

“Nurses, midwives and medical teams are an integral part of the fabric of the Palestinian people. They were the martyrs who played their national and humanitarian role to save the lives of the wounded and the sick,” said al-Daqran.

04:11 GMT — Israeli army says it struck 3 Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has said that its warplanes targeted three Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.

“Air Force planes bombed two Hezbollah missile launch sites in the villages of Helta and Al-Hamam and infrastructure belonging to the organisation in the Khraibeh area,” the army said in a statement, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli military deployment near the Zabdine site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with “new heavy missiles.”

03:55 GMT — Blinken says no 'red lines' for Israel but warns against Rafah attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are no "red lines" that would prompt Washington to cease backing Israel in its war in Gaza but warned the Israeli army against launching a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah.

Blinken underscored the Biden administration's opposition to a comprehensive attack on Rafah on NBC's "Meet the Press” show.

He emphasised that Israel has not yet presented a credible plan to protect the city’s nearly 1.5 million Palestinian inhabitants and warned that an Israeli offensive could foster an insurgency by failing to eliminate all the Hamas forces there.

03:22 GMT — Dutch women stage Mother's Day march in support of Gaza mothers

A group of women in the Netherlands staged a march on Mother's Day in support of Palestinian mothers in Gaza.

They gathered at Binnenrotte Square in Rotterdam under the banner "Mothers against Genocide," marching through the city centre and assembling in front of the Mother and Child statue carrying baby dolls wrapped in bloody shrouds.

Some mothers held demonstrations outside McDonald's, Starbucks and Burger King outlets, highlighting the plight of mothers in Gaza.

02:45 GMT — Protests disrupt pro-Israeli American-Jewish comedian's speech at Duke

A group of students against Israel’s war on Gaza protested as Jewish-American comedian Jerry Seinfeld was about to give a speech at North Carolina-based Duke University’s graduation ceremony by unfurling a Palestinian flag and walking out.

The demonstration in support of Palestine and Gaza at Duke University was the latest against the war on university campuses.

Seinfeld, who supports Israel, had been invited to speak at the ceremony.

For our live updates from Sunday, May 12, click here.